Marine vet Jon Hammar released

A young Marine veteran imprisoned in Mexico for months on a weapons charge will be home in time for Christmas, thanks to an unexpected court ruling in his favor.

Jon Hammar is now on U.S. soil, his family announced Friday night. A judge had ruled in favor of their
Amparo
, a form of constitutional relief in the Mexican legal system.

"While we will not be holding a press conference as we try and provide the gentlest means of re-entry for Jonny and safe travel for him back to Miami, we do want to recognize everyone who has played a role in securing his release," the Hammar family said in a release, declining to comment further until after the holidays.

Foremost they thanked God and said they would celebrate this Christmas this year like never before. "To people throughout this country who have championed our fight for justice, we have never been more proud to be Americans," they added.

"To the Marines and soldiers who prayed for us and repeatedly offered to physically go and get him out at any cost, this country is what it is today because of your courage and commitment."

Hammar, 27, a former East Coast Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was arrested Aug. 13 trying to register an heirloom .410 bore gun with Mexican customs officials. Hammar and another Marine veteran were traveling in an RV from Florida to Costa Rica on a surfing trip, after graduating from an inpatient program for post traumatic stress.

Hammar spent nine months at The Pathway Home in Napa, his mother Olivia Hammar, of Palmetto Bay, Fla., said. The residential program treats veterans suffering from combat and operational stress.

The former Marine rifleman was imprisoned in Matamoros, awaiting trial. In prison he had been beaten by inmates, threatened by them with murder and extortion, and shackled to his bed, according to his family and members of Congress who rallied for his release. The conditions of his detention later improved.

Hammar's plight attracted national attention in the U.S., fueling debate over unauthorized immigration from Mexico, gun control and the impact of war on young American veterans. As of Friday, the "Free Jon Hammar" Facebook page had attracted nearly 11,000 supporters.

On Thursday, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, and another Marine combat veteran in Congress, Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., had pressed for Americans to boycott travel to Mexico until Hammar was freed.

Nearly 70 members of Congress also wrote a letter Wednesday to the Departments of Homeland Security and State on his behalf.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents reportedly informed Hammar he was allowed to bring his great-grandfather’s gun into Mexico, according to the congressional letter. The letter described it as a shotgun suitable for hunting bird or small game.

Mexican authorities considered the weapon to be of military grade. Hammar's family said the barrel was just an inch shorter than regulation, calling it a technicality.

A Dec. 12 letter from Mexican ambassador Arturo Sarukhan, sent to Ros-Lehtinen and posted by Fox News, said: “Mexico has had very stringent gun-control laws in place for many years, and has reinforced their application as a result of the flow of weapons illicitly purchased in the U.S. and then trafficked into Mexico in the hands of transnational criminal organizations.

“Regardless of what (Hammar) may have declared or stated to CBP agents and then to Mexican Customs authorities, the sole introduction or possession of this type of weapon … in Mexican territory constitutes a federal crime in Mexico and is not subject to any prosecutorial discretion.”

Hammar was assigned to Camp Lejeune’s 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment and served four years in the military. His unit, which deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in 2005 after two large battles the previous year to secure the insurgent-held town, suffered heavy casualties, Hammar's supporters in Congress said in the letter.

He was honorably discharged in January 2007 at the rank of private first class.

Hunter said Friday: “I’m glad better sense prevailed in Mexico and there’s now a plan in place for Jon Hammar’s release. It’s unfortunate that Jon and his family had to endure this situation."